Graduate student sets his own pace in pursuit of dual master’s degrees

MBA student Jacob LeBlanc lives in double-time.

At age 19, he shaved a year from a four-year program to complete a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. But that’s not where LeBlanc’s fast track began or where it ends.

First, he skipped kindergarten. He took high school courses as a middle-school student, and a schedule of seven classes a year enabled him to complete high school as a junior. He then enrolled at UL Lafayette. He was 16, too young to vote and barely old enough to drive.

Now 21, he’s completed two master’s degrees in the time most graduate students finish one.

LeBlanc will receive the first, in systems technology, during Friday’s Commencement at the Cajundome. He also will be recognized as the overall Outstanding Master’s Graduate during the ceremony. LeBlanc’s second degree, an MBA, will be awarded in August during Summer Commencement.

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Photo caption: Graduate student Jacob LeBlanc works in an analytics laboratory in Madison Hall on UL Lafayette’s campus. (Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette)